Canine Nutrition: You Are What You Eat

We currently feed Fromm, Go!, Natural Balance, and Country Vet Naturals. I am planning on bringing in a new dog food line, made in British Columbia, called FIRST MATE. It will be available at Thunder Pet (Red River Road). All ingredients are sourced in Canada.

7) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "brown rice hulls", ground brown rice", "brewer's rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points.

Keep in mind though that brown rice hulls and brewers rice are a filler and not the same as brown rice. Brown rice alone is a good thing; see below. Rice flour is white rice.

8) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points

9) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points

11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points

12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; do not include any meat "meal" as one protein source, i.e. "chicken" and "chicken meal" would be as 1 source), add 1 point

13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point